What Does Spain's Coat of Arms Mean? | The Classroom | Synonym What Does Spain's Coat of Arms Mean? by MV Bowks de la Rosa Spain's coat of arms appears on the Spanish national flag. Related Articles Spain's official coat of arms is its national symbol. It appears on the flag and on items that represent Spain, such as the national football team's jerseys. It was approved by law in 1981, after the transition to democracy. On the Coat On each side of Spain's coat of arms is the Pillars of Hercules, which historically represent the Strait of Gibraltar. Each column is covered by a ribbon about midway across stating the Latin motto "Plus Ultra," meaning "further beyond." In between the columns is a shield consisting of six parts. The top left represents the Kingdom of Castile, the top right represents the Kingdom of Leon, the bottom left represents the Crown of Aragon and the bottom right represents the Kingdom of Navarre. In the middle of these four images is a circle with three fleurs de lis which represent the Anjou section of the House of Bourbon. The Kingdom of Granada is represented at the bottom of the shield.

A crown, representing the Crown of Spain, tops off the entire coat of arms. References World Atlas: Spain About the Author MV Bowks de la Rosa is a historian, blogger and freelance writer/researcher. She holds a Bachelor of Science in political science and is working on a Master of Arts in European history. She has published several encyclopedia and reference articles and is currently editing original research papers for submission to scholarly journals.

Photo Credits Coat-of-Arms (Spain) This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website Coat-of-Arms (Spain) Royal Flags (for the coat-of-arms as used on those flags) (Spain) Lesser Coat-of-Arms 1785-1931 (used on ensigns and rank flags) (Spain) Heraldry in Spain at Heraldica , François Velde's excellent heraldry website Heraldica Española (Spanish Heraldry, Spanish text only) image by José María Valladolid Heraldica Oficial (Civic Heraldry, Spanish text only) image by José María Valladolid Spanish Chivalric Orders: Military Order of Santiago Blazon This is the official description of the Spanish coat-of-arms (Law 33/1981, October 5th 1981), taken from the S.E.V. website : Artículo 1º. El Escudo de España es cuartelado y entado en punta. En el primer cuartel, de gules o rojo, un castillo de oro, almenado, aclarado en azur o azul y mazonado de sable negro.

En el segundo, de plata, un león rampante, de púrpura, linguado, uñado, armado de gules o rojo. En el cuarto, de gules o rojo, una cadena de oro, puesta en cruz, aspa y orla, cargada en el centro de una esmeralda de su color. Entado de plata, una granada al natural, rajada de gules o rojo tallada y hojada de dos hojas de sinople o verde.

Acompañado de dos columnas, de plata, con base y capitel, de oro, sobre ondas de azur o azul y plata, superada de corona imperial, la diestra y de una corona real, la siniestra, ambas de oro, rodeando las columnas, una cinta de gules rojo, cargada de letras de oro, en la diestra "Plus" y en la siniestra "Ultra." Al timbre, corona real, cerrada, que es un circulo de oro, engastado de piedras preciosas, compuesto de ocho florones de hojas de acanto, visibles cinco, interpoladas de perlas y de cuyas hojas salen sendas diademas sumadas de perlas, que convergen en un mundo de azur o azul, con el semimeridiano y el ecuador de oro, sumado de cruz de oro, la corona forrada de rojo. Artículo 2º.

El Escudo lleva escusón de azur o azul, tres lises de oro, puestas dos y una, la bordura lisa, de gules o rojo, propio de la dinastia reinante. My proposal of an English blazon (escutcheon only): Quarterly, 1. Gules a castle embattled Or gate and windows Azure masoned Sable (Castile); 2. Argent a lion Purpure langued and armed Gules crowned Or (Leon); 3. Or four pallets Gules (Aragon); 4. Gules on a chain in cross saltire and orle Or an emerald Proper (Navarre). Base: Argent a pomegranate Proper seeded Gules slipped with two leaves Vert (Granada). Inescutcheon: Azure three fleurs-de-lys (2,1) Or a bordure Gules (Bourbon-Anjou).

Santiago Dotor, 29 Oct 1998 Description The oval escutcheon is not simply azure three fleurs-de-lys or, arms of the Kingdom of France , but it also has a bordure gules, making it identical with the arms of Anjou . This is a brisure, because King Juan Carlos does not have the right to have the plain arms of France. Only his uncle [the late Jaime de Borbón – currently his grandson Luis Alfonso de Borbón, count of Anjou], who is a direct descendant of the Bourbons (Louis XIV etc) could claim the throne of France, if France were to be a monarchy again. The yugo and flechas of the old arms still exist on the royal standard . Pascal Vagnat, 17 Apr 1996 The escutcheon in the Spanish coat-of-arms represents the currently reigning dynasty – today that of Bourbon-Anjou, but in 1870-1873 that of Savoy , so the escutcheon was then Gules a cross Argent.

Santiago Dotor, 24 Sep 1998 As happens with several other national flags, the Spanish flag depicted at the Quid website has several mistakes: the lion's crown (should be or/gold), and the dexter/left crown (should be imperial). The red lion (should be purple) is a common mistake even in Spain... Also the azure/blue should be a darker shade and the pearls on the crown arches should be argent/white. Santiago Dotor, 28 Dec 1998 The motto is "PLVS VLTRA," which in Latin means "More Beyond," referring to the Spanish lands (in America) beyond the strait of Gibraltar (symbolized by the pillars). The Arms bear the royal Spanish crown, as does one of the two columns. The other is an Imperial crown, again making reference to Spain's former Imperial possessions . Santiago Dotor, 26 Jun 2000 Interestingly enough, those pillars and ribbons are what the "$" symbol of the U.S. dollar derives from.

José Carlos Alegría, 26 Jun 2000 A much more heraldically correct design – except for the oval escutcheon – has been used in the arms of the Prince of Asturias adopted in 2001. Santiago Dotor, 19 Mar 2001 Both columns of Hercules in Spain�s arms are surrounded by bands carrying the motto PLUS ULTRA. It's origin goes way back to the early days of the Roman Republic, when Rome signed a treaty with Carthage, with each power recognizing the preeminence of trade of the other power in certain areas. The sea beyond the pillars of Hercules (strait of Gibraltar) was forbidden to the Romans: NON PLUS ULTRAE (no further). After Columbus , Charles V changed the motto, getting rid of the NON: yes, there was a world beyond, and it was ours. One of the theories about the origin of the dollar sign refers also to these pilars and the bands that bind them (on some coins, there is only one band that embraces both pillars), from which: $ (with two I's, of course).

Paco C., 23 May 2005 Colour Specifications The colours of the Spanish Arms were regulated by Royal Decree No. 2267/1982, of September 3 as follows: Real Decreto 2267/1982, de 3 de septiembre (BOE nº 221). Especificación técnica de los colores del escudo de España. Artículo 1º.

Los colores del escudo de España, especificados en el sistema internacional CIELAB, serán los siguientes: Color Denominación color Tono H en º Croma C Claridad L Sinople Verde bandera 165.0 41.0 31.0 Azur Azul bandera 270.0 35.0 26.0 Oro Oro bandera 90.0 37.0 70.0 Plata Plata bandera 255.0 3.0 78.0 Sable Negro bandera 0.0 10.0 Gules Rojo bandera 35.0 70.0 37.0 Púrpura Púrpura bandera 0.0 52.0 50.0 Artículo 2º.

La correspondencia de las especificaciones del sistema internacional CIELAB con el sistema internacional CIE-1931, se establecerá de la siguiente manera: Denominación color Y x y Verde bandera 6.7 0.223 0.438 Azul bandera 4.7 0.168 0.171 Oro bandera 40.7 0.395 0.403 Plata bandera 53.2 0.303 0.311 Negro bandera 1.1 0.310 0.316 Rojo bandera 9.5 0.614 0.320 Púrpura bandera 18.42 0.426 0.263 Recently, the Spanish Government has issued the Manual de Identidad Institucional (Institutional Image Handbook), theoretically available in PDF format at this webpage . Unfortunately, availability is restricted, and only some government institutions can read/download the entire manual.

Fortunately, in another related page , an image shows the colours of the arms and their respective Pantone correspondences, as follows: Black (no specs) Red Pantone 186 Argent Pantone 877 Gold Pantone 872 Green Pantone 3415 Blue Pantone 2935 Purpure Pantone 218 Granada Pantone 1345 Granada is the reference term to describe the colour of the pomegranate, prescribed in the Arms blazon as proper. Antonio Gutiérrez, 30 Dec 1999 Using these specifications, here the CMYK equivalents and the recommended browser-safe colours , rounded by me from the RGB values given by PhotoShop 4: Black (no specs): This should be Pantone Process Black (unnumbered, but by logic is should be PMS 001), CMYK 0-0-0-100, RGB 0-0-0.

Red (Pantone 186): CMYK 0-91-76-6, a dark red, recommended browser-safe RGB 204-0-0 Isn't it strange that it is dark red , while the red stripes of the Spanish flag are medium red ? (Or I guess they are...) Do these specifications apply to the coat-of-arms on the flag, or only in stand-alone depictions? Or should it appear on the flag with a shade of red different from that of the stripes?... Argent (Pantone 877): no idea. Gold (Pantone 872): no idea. Green (Pantone 3415): CMYK 100-0-76-15, recommended browser-safe RGB 0-102-51. Blue (Pantone 2935): CMYK 100-47-0-0; recommended browser-safe RGB 0-102-153.

Purpure (Pantone 218): CMYK 0-47-0-0; recommended browser-safe RGB 204-102-153. Granada (Pantone 1345): CMYK 0-11-47-0; recommended browser-safe RGB 255-204-153. António Martins, 31 Dec 1999 [Some corrections and additions to the browser-safe RGB shades suggested image by António Martins.] Blurring the images at the Spanish Government website to get an uniform colour, I got: Argent (Pantone 877): RGB 178-178-178, the closest browser-safe colour is RGB 153-153-153. But barely, as 178 is just in the middle of the [153,204] interval. Gold (Pantone 872): RGB 180-148-0, the closest browser-safe is RGB 204-153-0.

Green (Pantone 3415): RGB 0-139-35; António Martins recommended as closest browser-safe RGB 0-102-51, but actually the closest is RGB 0-153-51. Purpure (Pantone 218): RGB 234-111-161; António Martins recommended as closest browser-safe RGB 204-102-153, but actually the closest is RGB 255-102-153. Jorge Candeias, 01 Jan 2000 The Pantone specs above are not the ones in Album des Pavillons 2000 [ pay00 ] but in official Spanish documents – by the way, do they match? Santiago Dotor, 04 Sep 2001 No, they do not. But they are not far away, I think. Notably, the official specifications do not define yellow but gold (and silver) metallic Pantones for the arms (which is fine for the arms, but useless for its display on flags).

For reference, Album des Pavillons 2000 [ pay00 ] indicates as approximations: red Pantone 186c purpure Pantone 226c blue Pantone 2738c I note that red and yellow are approximated with shades that are apparently used for 'standard' red and yellow thoughout Album des Pavillons 2000 [ pay00 ] (red matches exactly the official specifications anyway). Željko Heimer, 11 Dec 2002 Red vs. Purple Lions Showing a (bright) red instead of a purple lion in the Spanish coat-of-arms is a usual mistake even in Spain, see for instance the naval jack . My understanding is that the Spanish coat-of-arms has always been blazoned with a purpure lion for León, that is a lion rampant Purpure (and usually also crowned and armed Or langued Gules). Such is the coat-of-arms of the city of León . It can be argued that the old Kingdom of León used a red lion, but I believe in Medieval Spanish heraldry red (sometimes "dark red") and purple were often used as equivalent.

In spite of the Medieval identification of red and purple, I believe the use of red for the lion is of a more political nature. Since the Spanish Republicans adopted a red-yellow-purple tricolour, the purple colour tended to be seen as a republican or, more generally speaking, left-wing colour. This in spite of the purple being used by Republicans to represent the ancient Castilian pendón which was allegedly purple in colour (actually medieval purpure and hence indistinguishable from gules...). But I believe that it is frequent to find right-wing groups, and occasionally the Army, still using a red lion whereas the government etc. display a purple one. Furthermore, even though the 1981 Law describing the coat-of-arms blazons a purple lion, the "official coat-of-arms design" which was made available shortly after shows a "violet pink" one, as can be seen above . Most heraldry specialists in Spain criticize this "official design," not only because of the lion's colour, but it still is the one used officially in flags and elsewhere.

Santiago Dotor, 11 Jan 1999 "Purple" versus "purpure": originally "purpure" was a colouring matter made of the so called Purpurschnecke (purple-snail). The purple fluid was of a slightly bluish, brilliant medium dark red (a nice interpretation, isn't it?) colour shade and extremely rare, so it became the colour of rulers and kings. FIAV and some printers soon made it look more blue than it exactly should be shown. By the way, most crowns of kings and queens are purple inside! Have you ever seen a British crown printed in purple? No, they all are shown dark red... Ralf Stelter, 27 Jun 1999 Editor's note: see also The Tincture Purpure article in François Velde's Heraldica website. Oval Escutcheon According to heraldical rules, inescutcheons ought to follow the shape of the outward (main) escutcheon. If the main escutcheon is depicted as oval – for historical, aesthetic or whatever other reasons – then any inescutcheon should be equally represented.

That was the case with the Spanish royal arms – later also used as state arms – up to 1931. When the arms for the then Prince of Spain , nowadays King, Juan Carlos was approved in 1971, some ignorant of heraldry draughted a French – also known as Iberian – escutcheon but copied the (oval) design of the inescutcheon from the former arms, thus placing an oval inescutcheon within a non-oval escutcheon. The same mistake was made in the official design of the national arms in 1981 and once more, 20 years later, on the arms of the Prince of Asturias . However, the inescutcheon is blazoned as such (escusón) in the law and some heraldic illustrators have represented it appropriately, for instance on the front cover of Símbolos de España 1999 [ cpc99 ]. Santiago Dotor, 23 Dec 2002 Spanish National Badges Somebody asked, "which is the national emblem of Spain, such as the rose is for England?".

The Tudor rose is one of the heraldical badges of England , the one which has been preferred and used far above others. To my extent of knowledge, the rose – or rather, probably, a certain variety of it – is also the national flower of England. There is no such single heraldical badge for Spain – as happens with Great Britain , Spain is too a "united kingdom" made up of the historical kingdoms of Castile, Leon , Aragon and Navarre . Each of these, or rather some of the Kings and Queens of each of these, had their own badges. None of them has had enough popularity to become a Spanish badge. The following three are frequently considered heraldical badges of Spain (though as I have said, none is really correct): the Pillars (or Columns) of Hercules, which stand at the sides of the Spanish coat-of-arms , representing the two sides of the Gibraltar Strait the Cross (or Saltire) of Burgundy , heraldically a "saltire raguly couped" the yoke and arrows – canting badges of the 15th Century Catholic Kings – previously part of the national coat-of-arms but still in the royal arms .

They are also the badge of a para-fascist party, the Falange . Santiago Dotor, 24 Jun 1999 History of the Spanish Arms The arms of the Reyes Católicos [Catholic Kings], Isabel and Fernando, whose marriage unified Spain, were: Quarterly, 1. and 4. quarterly Castile-Leon, 2. and 3. per pale Aragon and Aragon-Sicily. The arms were borne by the eagle of Saint John, sable, with an open royal crown. Fernando himself often used different arms, namely tierced per pale Castile-Leon, Aragon-Sicily, and Aragon. The conquest of Granada was symbolized by the addition enté en point of a quarter for Granada. The annexation of Naples and Navarra brought about the final change in the arms of the Rey Católico: the second quarter was changed to: per pale, 1. per fess Aragon and Navarre, 2. per fess Jerusalem and Hungary. The arms as used in Navarre (until 1700) were: Quarterly, 1. quarterly Castile and Navarre; 2.

per pale Aragon and per pale Leon and Jerusalem; 3. per pale, a. per pale Hungary and Aragon, b. Aragon-Sicily; 4. quarterly Castile and Leon; enté en point Granada. The arms used in Aragon were either Aragon, or per pale, Castile-Leon and Aragon or tierced per pale, Aragon-Sicily, Aragon and tierced per pale Hungary, Anjou-Naples and Jerusalem. In Naples, the arms were: Quarterly, 1. and 4. Castile-Leon, 2. per pale Aragon and per pale Jerusalem-Hungary; 3. per pale Aragon and Aragon-Sicily. Carlos V, from 1516, used as arms a quarterly of Spain (quarterly Castile-Leon and Aragon-Aragon-Sicily, with Granada enté en point) and Austria (quarterly Austria, Burgundy modern, Burgundy ancient and Brabant) with an escutcheon overall per pale Flanders and Tyrol.

In 1520, the quarter of Aragon and Aragon-Sicily was replaced with a tierced per pale Aragon, Jerusalem and Hungary. At the same time, especially in Flanders, a simplified version appeared, which placed the Spanish quarters and the Austrian quarters per fess. In this case the Spanish quarters are: per pale, Castile-Leon with Granada and per fess, a. tierced per pale Aragon, Jerusalem and Hungary, b. per pale Aragon-Sicily and Navarra. The imperial arms used after 1530 were: quarterly: 1. and 4. Spain, which is quarterly A. and D. Castile-Leon, B. per pale a. per fess Aragon and Navarra, b. per pale Jerusalem and Hungary; C. per pale a. per fess Aragon and Navarra, b. Aragon-Sicily. 2 and 3. Austria, which is quarterly Austria, Burgundy modern, Burgundy ancient and Brabant. Enté en point Granada. Overall an escutcheon per pale Flanders and Tyrol.

The arms are borne by an imperial double-headed eagle sable, surmounted by an imperial crown, surrounded with the collar of the Golden Fleece and accompanied by the pillars of Hercules and the motto PLUS ULTRA. In Sicily Carlos V used Quarterly 1. and 4. Castile-Leon, 2. per pale Aragon and per pale Jerusalem and Hungary, 3. per pale Aragon and Aragon-Sicily, enté en point Granada. Overall in chief a double-headed eagle sable crowned or bearing an escutcheon of Austria. Later, he used quarterly, 1. Castile-Leon, 2. quarterly Aragon, Aragon-Sicily, Navarre and Aragon, 3. quarterly Austria, Burgundy modern, Burgundy ancient and Brabant, overall an escutcheon per pale Flanders and Tyrol; 4. per pale Jerusalem and Hungary. Enté en point Granada, these arms borne by an imperial eagle. With his son Felipe II came the adoption of the form per pale Spain and Austria, with the Spanish quarters further simplified. The resulting arms were: per pale: Spain, which is quarterly, 1. and 4.

Castile-Leon and 2. and 3. per pale Aragon and Aragon-Sicily; enté en point Granada; Austria, which is quarterly Austria, Burgundy modern, Burgundy ancient and Brabant. Overall an escutcheon per pale Flanders and Tirol. From 1580 to 1666 an escutcheon of Portugal was added in honor point, and the escutcheon of Flanders-Tyrol shifted to nombril point. In Sicily, the arms used were: per pale, 1. per fess Castile-Leon and Austria (Austria, Bourgogne modern and ancient and Brabant, overall Flanders and Tyrol); 2. quarterly Aragon, Aragon-Sicily and Hungary. These arms remained in use in Sicily until 1700. Felipe V, grandson of Louis XIV of France, introduced changes in the royal arms of Spain. The king's new arms were designed by the French heraldist Clairambault in November 1700, and were as follows: per fess: 1.

per pale, quarterly Castile and Leon, enté en point Granada, and per pale, Aragon and Aragon-Sicily; 2. Quarterly, Austria, Burgundy ancient, Burgundy modern and Brabant; enté en point, per pale Flanders and Tyrol. Overall an escutcheon Anjou. The abbreviated arms were quarterly Castile and Leon, enté en point Granada, overall Anjou. In 1761 Carlos III modified the arms as follows: Quarterly of six (in three rows of two each): 1. per pale Aragon and Aragon-Sicily; 2. per pale Austria and Burgundy modern; 3. Farnese 4. Medici; 5. Burgundy ancient; 6. Brabant; enté en point per pale Flanders and Tyrol. Overall an escutcheon quarterly of Castile and Leon enté en point of Granada, overall Anjou. Around the shield are the collars of the Golden Fleece and of the French Holy Spitirt. The abbreviated arms remained the same (they form the escutcheon en surtout of the state arms).

They are accompanied by the Pillars of Hercules and the motto PLUS ULTRA and crowned with the royal crown, but do not show the collars. Already at this time the Anjou escutcheon was sometimes represented without its bordure gules. In 1808, José Bonaparte (brother of Napoleon I of France) proclaimed a new coat-of-arms: Quarterly of 6, in three rows of two each, 1. Castile; 2. Leon; 3. Aragon; 4. Navarra; 5. Granada; 6. Indies (Azure, the old and the new world or between the pillars of Hercules argent). Overall an escutcheon with France Imperial. In 1813 Fernando VII re-established the arms of Carlos III, both the state arms and the abbreviated arms. The Anjou escutcheon became increasingly frequently an escutcheon of France. The Provisional Government of 1868 adopted the following territorial arms: Quarterly, Castile, Leon, Aragon, Navarra, enté en point of Granada. The crown was a mural crown.

During the brief reign of Amadeo of Savoy, the crown was a royal crown and an escutcheon of Aosta (Argent, a cross gules within a bordure compony azure and or) was placed en surtout. When the Bourbons were restored with Alfonso XII, the same territorial arms were used with the Anjou (most frequently France) escutcheon; but the king also used the grand as well as the abbreviated arms of Carlos III as personal arms. Alfonso XIII did away with the distinction between state and personal arms by combining the two. He took the arms of Carlos III, substituted the Aragon quarter with Jerusalem, and replaced the escutcheon with the former national arms: Quarterly of 6, in three rows of two each: 1. per pale Jerusalem and Aragon-Sicily; 2. per pale Austria and Burgundy modern; 3. Farnese 4. Medici; 5. Burgundy ancient; 6. Brabant; enté en point per pale Flanders and Tyrol. Overall an escutcheon quarterly of Castile, Leon, Aragon and Navarra enté en point of Granada, overall France.

The Republic of 1931 used again the territorial arms, while Franco adopted in 1938 a variant: Quarterly, 1 and 4. quarterly Castile and Leon, 2 and 3. per pale Aragon and Navarra, enté en point of Granada. The arms are crowned with an open royal crown, placed on an eagle displayed sable, surrounded with the pillars of Hercules, the yoke and the bundle of arrows of the Reyes Católicos [as on the 1938-1945 , 1945-1977 1977-1981 flags]. Juan Carlos uses as personal arms those of the last kings of Spain, Alfonso XII and Alfonso XIII, with the closed crown and the collar of the Golden Fleece. The same arms without the France escutcheon were already in use in the last years of the Franco regime as abbreviated arms. In 1981, Franco's national arms were abolished and the following state arms were adopted, namely: Quarterly Castile, Leon, Aragon and Navarra, en surtout France. Closed crown, pillars of Hercules.

Description of Spanish and Austrian quarters [see the arms of the Two Sicilies for images of all the escutcheons]: Castile Spain Flag: Or should we say “flags?” | Spain Travel Guide WhyGo » Spain » About Spain » Spain Flag: Or should we say “flags?” Spain Flag: Or should we say “flags?” by Jessica on December 30, 2008 by Jessica | December 30th, 2008 Tweet What happens when the government says the national flag is one thing but everyone in the country basically uses another flag instead? One look around Spain will give you the answer – you’ll see two flags representing the country, and both of them are equally accepted, no matter what the government says. So what’s the story behind the Spain flag – both of them? Read on to find out about both the current flag of Spain , the one that preceded it (and which is still used by just about everyone anyway), the meaning behind the colors and the story of the coat of arms . Modern Spanish Flag The official flag of Spain was only adopted in December 1978, although it’s only slightly different from the previous flag (as you’ll see in a moment).

The current flag is three horizontal stripes – two red stripes with a yellow stripe in the center – where the height of the yellow stripe is twice as tall as each red stripe. The history of all the flags which have flown in the name of Spain is long, but the modern flag has origins during the reign of Charles III in the late 1700s. Charles reasoned that too many countries had designs that were predominantly white, which could lead to understandable confusions during war. So he asked for proposals of new designs that would be highly visible from a distance, and not white. The result was the tricolor flag that’s the official Spanish flag of today, except it also had the Spanish coat of arms on it. Which brings us to… Old Flag of Spain Prior to 1978, and in fact dating back to 1785, the official Spain flag was the red-yellow-red tricolor design as seen above, but with the addition of the official Spanish coat of arms on the left of the yellow band. The coat of arms was situated so that its center was positioned exactly one-half the height of the flag away from the hoist side.

(Yes, they’re very precise about these things.) This design, while no longer the flag of Spain as stated in the Spanish Constitution, is nevertheless still the official flag of the Spanish navy and is still to be used on state and local buildings and ships. But this is the design which you’ll see most often throughout Spain, no matter the building it’s in front of. What do the colors of the Spain flag represent? As mentioned, there is a long and colorful history of an array of flags in Spain, but the current colors of red and yellow do date back to 1785. So, what do those colors mean? Charles III’s Minister of the Navy chose several designs from the proposals sent in, and the king chose the red and yellow design because he wanted a flag that would be easily visible (and not white), but there are different stories for what those colors specifically represent. One story links the red and yellow design to the old flag of the Crown of Aragon, which governed a territory in eastern Spain (among other parts of the Mediterranean) – that flag had five yellow and four red alternating horizontal stripes, which is also the same flag of present-day Catalonia.

Another story is that the yellow and red were to represent the territory of Aragon while the coat of arms was to represent the territory of Castile, thereby uniting the two parts of the then-Kingdom. Unlike the symbol-rich histories of many national flags, then, the bottom line is that the red and yellow colors of the Spanish flag don’t “mean” anything – they represent the ruling monarchies of former regional empires, but that’s all. What does the coat of arms on the Spanish flag mean? Like the Spain flag itself, the current Spanish coat of arms was only recently adopted by the government. The new coat of arms was made official in December 1981, replacing a coat of arms adopted in 1977, which replaced the coat of arms adopted in 1945. With all those changes, there’s no telling how long the current coat of arms will actually be “current,” but let’s take a look at what all is in that symbol anyway.

The current coat of arms of Spain is a shield with four sections, each one representing one of the four kingdoms – Castile, Leon, Aragon, and Navarre – that united in the 15th century to form the country of Spain. In the center of the shield is the symbol of the royal family of Spain, the Bourbon family, and on top of the shield is the Spanish Royal Crown. The columns on either side of the shield are meant to symbolize the Pillars of Hercules which are at the Strait of Gibraltar. There is a Latin phrase on the red ribbon which winds around the two pillars, which reads PLVS VLTRA (those Vs are stand-ins for Us, as is typical in Latin) and which means “further beyond.” >> You can read more about each of the bits of symbolism in the Spanish coat of arms on this Wikipedia page . The Spanish Flag of Spain The Flag of Spain The Spanish flag has a central yellow stripe that is twice as wide as tall as each red band beside it. The coat of arms of Spain is on the yellow band, towards the flagpole side.

The Spanish coat of arms consists of two crown-topped pillars of Hercules with red banners wrapped round them displaying the Latin words, "PLUS ULTRA," meaning "More Beyond," referring to Columbus' discovery of the New World. The two columns are on either side of a shield of 4 quarters - a castle, a lion with a crown, red and yellow vertical stripes, chain mail, with three fleurs-de-lis in an oval in the center. A red and golden crown sits on top of the shield. The columns are the Pillars of Hercules, which represent Gibraltar and Ceuta on either side of the Strait of Gibraltar. Legend says that the colours of the Spanish flag come from the bullfight arena - with the red representing the blood and the yellow the sand of the arena. The colours of the flag of Spain were more likely to have been chosen as they were the colours of King Ferdinand´s coat of arms.

The current flag has changed slightly over the years, but its basic evolution has been:- The design for the flag of Spain was selected on May 25th 1785 for a new Spanish war ensign by King Charles III Up till then the Spanish war ensign was plain white with the Spanish arms in the centre, and was not easily differentiated from other European Bourbon-ruled countries like France, Parma, Tuscany or Two Sicilies It became the lag for Spanish Navy buildings by the General Navy Regulations 1793. State and War Flag and Ensign by Royal Decree of October 13th 1843; State and War Flag (including civil use) and Ensign by Decree July 27th 1938 National flag 1977 National flag (with the current arms) 1981. In 1981 the eagle disappeared from the Spanish national flag. Details on Spain Flag - World Flags 101 - Spanian Flags Proportions: 2:3 Spanish Flag Description: The flag of Spain consists of three horizontal stripes.

The top and bottom stripes are equal-sized and red; while the middle yellow stripe is double the size of the red stripes. Towards the left side of the yellow stripe is the country's coat of arms. The coat of arms consists of a crowned shield, quartered and guarded on each side by the crowned Pillars of Hercules - representing Gibraltar and Cueta. Each quarter displays badges of the original Spanish kingdoms. In the centre of the shield is the emblem of the reigning Spanish royal Family, House of Bourbon, which is a blue oval with a red-edged border containing three fleur de lies. At the bottom of the shield is a pomegranate representing Grenada. Wrapped around the pillars is a red scroll with the motto 'Plus Ultra' written on it. The motto translates to 'there is more beyond'. Advertiser Links [ what's this? ] Spanish Flag Meaning: Red and yellow are traditional Spanish colors and originate from the coat of arms of the original Spanish kingdoms. No other countries used the red and yellow colors at that time. See the Spanish flag description for their meaning. Spanish Flag History: The current Spanish flag was adopted on December 19, 1981.

The closest variation of the current Spanish flag can be traced back to 1785 when Carlos III ruled Spain. At this time the kingdom wanted a flag that was different from the Bourbon flags of the two France and the Two Sicilies, which were the other principal Bourbon kingdoms. Red and yellow were used in the national flag until the monarchy was removed in 1931. The new republic adopted a flag of red, yellow and purple horizontal stripes. The former flag was reinstated in 1936. The main changes to the Spanish flag over the years has been modifications to the coat of arms. Interesting Spanish Flag Facts: A flag oath called the 'jura de bandera' took place every year when Spanish youths ended their military service. Any Spanish citizen could attend the ceremony and take part in the oath. Citizens are not otherwise sworn in to the flag. There is also a civil flag of Spain which is quite commonly seen throughout the world. It is the same as the national flag but it doesn't have the coat of arms in it. World FlagsAlphabetical list of all world flags.

S Spain Flag colors - Spain Flag meaning history WORLD FLAGS Spain National Flag - Information The National flag of Spain (Bandera de España) consists three horizontal bands of red (top), yellow (double width), and red with the national coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band; the coat of arms is quartered to display the emblems of the traditional kingdoms of Spain (clockwise from upper left, Castile, Leon, Navarre, and Aragon) while Granada is represented by the stylized pomegranate at the bottom of the shield; the arms are framed by two columns representing the Pillars of Hercules, which are the two promontories (Gibraltar and Ceuta) on either side of the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar; the red scroll across the two columns bears the imperial motto of "Plus Ultra" (further beyond) referring to Spanish lands beyond Europe Spain Flag - Colors Red Hex: #AA151B RGB (170, 21, 27) Gold Hex: #AA151B RGB (241, 191, 0) Spain Flag - History, Facts & information for kids In 1785, King Charles III chose

, from a set of 12 different flags designed by Antonio Valdés y Bazán, a flag with unequal horizontal stripes of red-yellow-red with the national arms on the yellow near the hoist as it was clearly distinguishable from those of other countries.

The current design, adopted on December 6, 1978, incorporated a new coat of arms - the crown is prominently displayed to honour the role of the monarchy in the modern Spanish state while retaining the shields of the old Spanish kingdoms and the Pillars of Hercules. Spain Flag - History, Facts & information for kids The red and yellow colors are related to those of the oldest Spanish kingdoms: Aragon, Castile, Leon, and Navarre. Spain Flag pictures

Question: What do the columns on the coat-of-arms of Spain (seen on the national flag) represent?
Answer: PILLARS OF HERCULES